SnoTapWI Packers Preview: Minnesota vs. Green Bay

Green Bay Packers welcome the Minnesota Vikings to town for an early season matchup. This is one of the earlier matchups I can remember the team facing off against Minnesota. The hype is real around the Vikings. Many people picked them to the Super Bowl. Many are falling over themselves to praise Kirk Cousins and this offense plus people have to mention the defense as well. There are local reporters whom believe the torch passed from Green Bay to Minnesota for NFC North superiority. Packers have a copious amount of motivation heading into this game. But will they have their quarterback with them?

Will it be DeShone Kizer or Aaron Rodgers? – This is the big question of the game. We do not know an answer. We may not know until Saturday. We assume that Rodgers will be playing, but there’s a chance he might not be on Sunday. If you’ve listened to podcasts we did last week, I mentioned how Week 1 felt more like Brett Favre than Rodgers, and this whole sequence is very Favre too. Remember Favre used to have weeks where we wondered if ‘The streak ends here.’ Then it would not at all. We’ll see if Rodgers will follow suit. If he does play, we should expect a similar offense to last week. If Kizer goes out there, I almost hope the up-tempo is brought to him as well. Just say fuck it and tire out the defense.

Young corners versus the Vikings receivers – One of the better matchups in this game. Can the young corners keep up with the Vikings offense? My answer is yes. Stefon Diggs will get Kevin King, and King did a great job with Allen Robinson II after he started out hot. Thielen will probably be a combo of Josh Jackson and Jaire Alexander. Cousins likes to go to his tight ends, but I do not see a corner shifting towards to Kyle Rudolph. Don’t be surprised if Jackson or Alexander tries to jump a route for an interception. I’m not saying they’re going to get one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens.

Don’t sleep on the Packers pass rush – Even though, Chicago kept mostly a clean pocket, the Packers pressure numbers were in the top ten of the National Football League last week. That happened with Clay Matthews unleashing his worst outing of his career. Vikings offensive line is shaky with a variety of injuries, and Green Bay should be able to take advantage.

Prediction: I’m assuming that Rodgers plays in this one, and if he does, I like the Packers to win 20-14. Defense comes to play and makes some really big play on Cousins then the offense does just enough with Rodgers leading the way. It’s going to be a blast.